Local nonprofit partners up with community to battle childhood hunger in Broken Arrow
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — A local nonprofit is partnering up with community organizations to battle child food insecurity.
The Broken Arrow Neighbors organization serves a over 11,000 families in the area of every year.
But those are pre-pandemic numbers.
Megan Quickle, the executive director for Broken Arrow Neighbors, said that need has only grown.
"Just in 2020 we saw an increase of 35% new clients to our agency because of the pandemic who had never been in this situation before," Quickle explained.
According to the Oklahoma Food Bank, one in four children in Oklahoma goes to bed hungry. That's one in three kids going to sleep on an empty stomach during the pandemic.
Quickle said the organization is working to truly end the cycle of generational poverty and food insecurity in Broken Arrow, especially for children.
For more than a decade, Broken Arrow Neighbors have partnered with Broken Arrow Public Schools to make sure no child goes hungry over the weekend.
This was the organization's first weekend back for the 2021 school year.
Each week, school councilors give the nonprofit a number of students in need of meals.
On Friday's, those meals are delivered to the schools, then placed discreetly in the child's backpack by teachers to take home over the weekend.
"It’s such an incredible program!" Quickle said. "We are honored to be a part of it in our community."
The Food for Kids Backpack Program is a combined effort from organization along with Broken Arrow Neighbors as well as the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, Broken Arrow Public Schools, and the St. Stephen's United Methodist Church.
The community organizations help provide backpacks for students from 26 different schools in Broken Arrow with food to take home for the weekend.
Quickle said while food drives are always a great way to help, the nonprofit could always use financial donations.
